90 Minutes

 There are two 45 minute halves in a soccer game.

 I listen to the first half of each game while I go about my business and then sit down for the second half of each. There have been three games a day so I've gotten a lot threaded on the loom watching them.

 Brickless is this big now.

I'm past the heel on my sock-finally.

 I've also got my floor stand set up by the TV with my little sheep sampler on it. Mr. Cheviot just needs his legs and he will be a done deal.

And to think this is a year that we go right from the World Cup to the Tour de France. I won't have to get out of my pajamas until August.

Busy Work

 When I started my World Cup knitting I thought I would be sitting and knitting the games away.

 Then I looked at the calendar and holy crickets! I have cards to make and soap to wrap. July is right around the corner.

 The cards I wanted to send with the July giveaway are pretty labor intensive. All those backgrounds, grass and moon are hand painted-or should I say hand inked.

All the paper is inked with several colors of Tim Holtz's amazing new oxide inks. They blend beautifully. I love working with them.

 Ta dah....11 games later and I have 24 cards made. That's how many people usually sign up for soap give or take a few.

 As much as I love the inks, I am not loving my new big Tim Holtz stamping platform.

 It works okay with the little stamps but I already had a Mini Misti that did a great job with that.

 I wanted it for those new BIG stamps that everybody is using. My last kit has a real whopper.

 I've done everything I know to do but I still only get a partial print. Grrrrr.......

On a happier note, The Mister needed two birthday cards this month and he made these on Saturday. Cute, huh?

Bits and Pieces

The Mister went to play golf all day so as soon as the door closed I dug out a project I've been itching to get to.

 This little mini quilt scares me to death. I will have to have all my wits about me to pull it off.

 The cutting was intense. Lots of little numbers with fractions I've never cut before. This is far as I got before my nerves gave out on me. I'll have to think about all that crazy piecing another day.

Blop

Blop. That's what Daddio used to call my blog. I'd take photos of him doing things and he'd ask if it was for my blop. It was.

 He was a pretty popular guy here on the blop. I always got a lot of comments when I did a post about him. He liked that.

He was perfect blop fodder. He loved all things crafty. He kept his hands busy which kept his mind from wandering into places he didn't want it to go. I find myself doing the same thing these days.

He was handy indoors and out. This was only five years ago. The aging process is so swift-and terrifying.

Holding my yarn ball while I knit was the best he could do in those last months.

What I miss most were those days we were working in tandem. He was cutting, I was sewing. His music would be blasting. Good times while they lasted.

 I miss tea on the porch while gazing out at the Bay.

I miss our garden and my fig tree.

I miss his stash of candy bars.

I miss him always having holes in the socks I knit him so I would have to knit him another pair.

I miss having a dad on Father's Day.

Sitting and Knitting

 I said I wasn't going to do it but I did it anyway. I started a World Cup project. Since I am going to be doing a lot of sitting over the next few weeks I thought I might was well.

 What started it was this. I found this yarn still in it's original bag with the receipt in the closet from five years ago. I picked it up at the SVFF and I remember making myself a right nuisance in the Wolle's Creation booth trying to pick a colorway.

 It's weird stuff. It's a four ply cotton that is not twisted. It's a bit tricky to knit with.

 It's going to be a Brickless. It seemed a popular pattern for this particular yarn.

While I am sitting on my behind for the next few weeks I also need to finish this sock. It's been on the needles long enough. I'm at the heel so it should be an easy gooooooooaaaaaaaal!

AND a huge thank you to Betsy for sending me this package of goodies. Look at that yarn. That button is just too cute. I have to also thank Kathy B for arranging this 4th of July swap. It's hard to believe that it's just around the corner. This summer is flying by!

Four

Sporting events like the World Cup give you a a weird perspective on life. Four years is a big chunk of time to go by.

Four years ago the family had gathered for a dinner at Daddio's to watch France play. 

He was my World Cup buddy. We used to call back and forth about the games. He really got into it. We hung the flags of the teams playing on his front porch. He loved flags. I miss that.

It seems like so long ago that he was still home and driving us all crazy. The early stages of dementia are so difficult. We couldn't convince him that something was wrong and he needed help. He always knew best even when it was a disaster as it always was.

We also said goodbye to #2 Son four years ago. He made the big move to Michigan in June. 

We were watching the cup at his farewell bash.

DIL become a citizen four years ago in June and she got a party too. 

Four years ago Hoover was a she....or so I thought. I couldn't understand why she kept hanging around. I took "her" to the vets because I thought she might be having kittens. Now I know he is a he. He sleeps in the house. He's here for good. Four years. So much lost and so much gained. Scary, isn't it?

A Day at the Beach

 It's gotten too hot to take Pup on our usual town boardwalk during the day. Shade is in short supply there.

Instead we walk on the wooded path that leads to another beach nearby.

This beach allows dogs so Pup gets to get up close and personal with sand and the water. She's never quite sure what to make of it.

Instead of seagulls you can find the herons here. They don't seem to mind the dogs that come for a swim.

I got my feet wet for the first time this year.  That's as far as I go in the Bay. When I was a kid we swam like otters in it. Now, it's dirty. It's recovering but it's still pretty sad. Maryland is suing the EPA to try to keep the regulations we need to save it. Lots of people make their living in its waters around here.

The wetlands that spill into the Bay have taken over thanks to all the rain.

We couldn't even get to the boardwalk that skirts the cliffs. Some folks lost their backyards to landslides in that big rainstorm a few weeks back.

Since the boardwalk was closed we had to head back home early and that was fine with Pup. Me too. We needed a good scrubbing and to clean all that sand out of the new car.